Alive and Livin': 2012

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas

WOW! I cannot believe Christmas is less than a week away. This year has gone by so fast and Christmas just came out of nowhere! I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that feels this way, so for all of you last minute shoppers and wrappers here are some more cute wrapping ideas:

{ image and free printables at For Chic Sake blog }

{ use paint strips as gift tags! image from Stampin' Pretty blog }

{ use initials instead of name tags! image from http://meggielynne.tumblr.com/ This is very similar to my blog post on Cute Christmas Wrapping}

{ stamp their name on the paper! very simple and easy! image from http://www.thehaystackneedleonline.com/2009/12/simple-gift-wrap.html }

{ add lace or green/red/gold ribbon to duck tape and tape it on the presents, the finished product could be very cute! Got this idea from an etsy shop : http://www.etsy.com/listing/65782532/lvictorian-lace-deco-tape-deco-sticker }

{ have any tiny presents you need wrapped? recycle some toilet paper rolls and make a cute gift box at the same time! image from Her Beautiful Mess Blog }

{ make a paper snowflake and stick it under some string or ribbon! image from http://beautyspot.livejournal.com/49167.html }

{ print out Christmas carols in cool fonts and use that as wrapping paper! image from Aunt Peaches Blog }

{ image from 33 Shades of Green Blog }

Hope these ideas help with your gift wrapping! Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Cute Christmas Wrapping

Here's a cute idea for all of that Christmas wrapping you will be doing in the near future. I really enjoyed wrapping presents this way because I was able to use the same wrapping paper and red ribbon on all of the presents while still adding a personal touch to each one.
To add the personal initial tag, cut out the first initial of the person who will be receiving the gift from scrapbook paper, construction paper or card stock. On the back of the letter you can write the "To:, From:". Then stamp a hole in the letter so that you can pull the ribbon through.

And now you have yourself a bunch of cute presents to display under the tree! Do you have any other cute ideas to wrap Christmas gifts?

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Inexpensive Christmas Cards

Last year I discovered an easy way to create a Christmas card without breaking the bank. I was on Shutterfly messing around with their editing and discovered a massive stockpile of borders that you can put on your photos (for no additional cost.) At first this seemed almost silly because when in the world would I ever want to put a border on a picture, BUT as I was successfully wasting time dorking up my pictures with crazy borders I hit the jackpot! They have Christmas and holiday borders! Now, just to warn you, some of them are very old-fashioned and un-usuable, but there are a handful of borders that are super cute and are perfect for creating your own Christmas cards. Once you digitally put the border on your photo and save it you can order $.14 prints like any other 4x7 picture. That is saving you about $.80 a card and believe me that can add up! (Also remember once you are done editing your picture with a border and save it, it is like any other picture you would have on your computer so you can order it from anywhere else that might be cheaper than $.14 a print. You don't have to order it from Shutterfly.) This is the border I picked for last years Christmas card:

How cute is that?! Here's how you do it.
1. You have to have an account with Shutterfly and have the photo you want to use uploaded to one of your albums. Select the photo you want to use and click the edit button in the top left corner of the photo. On the scroll down menu select "apply border"

2. It will take you to a screen that looks like this, with the "no border" already selected. You will want to click on the "choose a style" menu bar and scroll all the way to the bottom and select "more."

3. It will take you to a screen that looks like this. This is where are the borders are, so you can scroll down and look through them all. They have them in categories, so if you are looking to do a Christmas card you can stick to the "holiday" or "Christmas" type categories.

4. Click on a border you want to preview and it will apply the border to your photo. I found this one that I absolutely loved, I hope you find one you love too!

5. Once you've picked your border, save your picture. And now you have yourself an inexpensive cute Christmas card! I ended up glueing a Bible verse I printed out on the back and sticking the cards in homemade Christmas envelopes. It was a fun project that allowed me to send some Christmas love without spending too much money.

I'd love to see how yours turned out! Happy crafting and Merry Christmas!

Cranberry Cocktail

The other night I had a craving for a holiday cranberry drink and when I was at the store I kind of threw some stuff together that sounded good. The drink turned out delicious so I decided to share the recipe. Here's what you need:

Diet Cranberry Sierra Mist

Raspberry Vodka

Cranberry Vodka

Cranberries

Pour one shot of cranberry vodka and one shot of raspberry vodka into a glass. Fill the rest of the glass with cranberry sierra mist (to taste, to make it as strong or weak as you like). Add some fresh cranberries and you are good to go! I recommend freezing the cranberries and vodka before you make the drink to make it extra chilled, but you can always add ice if everything isn't cold enough.

What are your favorite holiday drinks?

Friday, December 7, 2012

DIY Christmas Envelopes

Last year when I sent out Christmas cards I made my own Christmas envelopes to go with them. This was so fun, and definitely an added touch of love to the original Christmas card. It might look hard to do, but it really is quite simple.

1. Find some cute Christmas paper you want to use. I used a pad of Christmas scrapbook paper that I found on sale at Hobby Lobby, but you can use any paper, of most any material.

2. Find a regular envelope that your Christmas cards fit into. Open it up, unfolding the flaps so that it is completely flat. Once it is completely flat, lay it on the Christmas paper you want to use and trace the outline of it.

3. Cut the outline of the envelope out of the Christmas paper. I used an exact-o knife, but you can use scissors as well.

4. Using the regular envelope as a guideline, fold the flaps and use a glue stick to glue it together. (make sure to use a glue stick or something with this consistency because regular glue is too wet and will wrinkle and mess up the paper.)

5. If the Christmas paper is dark or has a whole lot of design on it then you might have to get address labels to stick on there to write the address, but if its a simple design or a lighter colored paper you might be able to get away with just writing the address right on the paper.

6. Stick a stamp on it and you're good to go!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Polar Bear Cupcakes

Make your holiday party a "Winter Wonderland" with these polar bear cupcakes!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

Is there anything more festive than a Christmas tree? Add some greenery to your dessert table with these cute Christmas trees!

Friday, November 30, 2012

Melting Snowmen Cupcakes

Bring some laughter to any Christmas party with these hilarious melting snowmen cupcakes!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Life-Changing Gifts

Christmas season is here, and with wish lists and gift ideas fast approaching I want to encourage everyone to look into giving to charities in place of the usual gifts. Maybe there is a co-worker or neighbor you have no idea what to get for Christmas, or you have a close friend or family member that already has everything they could ever want- whatever the situation- donations to charities go a long way! My favorite organization to give to for Christmas is World Vision. They have a wonderful gift catalog that makes gift giving so easy! You will be able to pick a gift, whether it be "a goat and 2 chickens" to a needy family or a "share of a deep well" to a thirsty community, and make the donation in someone else's name. World Vision will send you a physical card that you will be able to wrap up and hand to the person you bought it for.
Technology now-adays makes it so easy and simple to research organizations that are close to your heart and then donating to the cause. I implore you this holiday season be generous with your money, be generous with your gifts. Ask for and give away these life-changing gifts and I promise you you won't regret it!